My All
by GoDale13
Summary: Ziva is dating the best man she could ever dream of, but all is not as it seems. He becomes overly protective and jealous of a certain NCIS teammate. What will happen whe Tony's gut warns him that all may not be perfect with Ziva's new boyfriend?
1. Love in two different worlds

**_Here's a new story for ya'll. The first chapter or so kinda has the same ring as the little songfic I did, "The Way I loved You," but it is also different. If you've read that one you will spot the similarities, but it's not too bad. It definently takes a different path pretty quickly. _**

**_I own no NCIS character, although that would be kinda cool. Just think: You could have life-sized, really human like figures to play with, instead of little rinkydink plastic Barbis and Kens and GI Joes. lol_**

**_Anywho, hope you enjoy this! Please tell me what you think, and I will update as soon as possible._**

**______________________________________**

**Flashback**

Ziva could not remember a better night. Tony had taken her to Materani's for dinner. Since it was only three blocks from Ziva's house, and it being a nice evening, the two decided to walk to the restaurant. On the way home, Tony suggested they walk through the park.

"I've never noticed how beautiful the fall was," Ziva commented.

"It's my second favorite season," Tony said. "Spring's my favorite because everything comes to life. In the fall, everything is settling in for the winter," he explained.

"I did not know you were so symbolic," Ziva complemented.

Tony shrug his shoulders, "I don't show it at work. I've got an image to maintain." He smiled his infamous DiNozzo smile at her.

"Only you would want to maintain the college, frat-boy attitude," Ziva laughed.

**End Flashback**

Two years later, Ziva walked in the same park, her head resting on the man's shoulder beside her, looking up at the stars through the trees. "It is so beautiful tonight," she sighed.

"You're beautiful," the man commented, causing Ziva to uncharacteristically blush. Ziva met Jeremy Holdset by accident at the local coffee shop. She was hurrying to get to work on time. Not paying attention to her surroundings, Ziva ran right smack into the man and spilt hot coffee all down his front. From the moment their eyes connected, Ziva forgot about everything else. There was something about this man that intrigued her. He was not like any other man she'd known.

"We'd better head back," Jeremy said, breaking Ziva's reverie.

As the two headed back to Ziva's apartment, the rain slowly began to fall. The moment the first drop fell, Jeremy pulled his jacket off and slipped it over her shoulders, ever the gentleman.

**Flashback**

Ziva ran behind Tony as the two ran for cover from the pouring rain. When they made it to a picnic shelter, the two were laughing and gasping for air.

"Well, this wasn't exactly what I had planned," Tony said, looking out at the rain.

"I do not believe any of your 'plans' go as you want," Ziva pointed out and Tony smiled the grin that made her knees weak.

"Here, you must be cold," Tony said, shrugging off his coat and putting it on her, his hands lingering on her shoulders and his eyes meeting hers.

Something happened between the two, and they found themselves slowly leaning towards each other; their faces growing closer and closer. Tony searched Ziva's eyes imploringly. The want in her eyes was enough for him to close the distance. The kiss slowly growing in intensity.

When the two broke for air, Ziva took Tony's hand and led him back out into the rain. They were only a few minutes from her apartment. Neither felt the rain soaking them from head to toe, as they stole a kiss here and there as they made their way.

**End Flashback**

As Ziva unlocked the front door, she asked, "Would you like to come in for a cup of tea or coffee?" Silently, she hoped he would say yes. She could hear the thunder beginning to rumble, and she did not like being alone in a storm.

**Flashback**

"Who would have thought a tough, Mossad assassin would be afraid of a little thunder," Tony teased as he caressed Ziva's bare shoulder.

"My mother used to play her piano and sing when it rained. Tali and I would imagine that the sky was her band," Ziva explained. "One day when I was thirteen, a storm came through and it was just Momma and I at home. She was playing the piano when a tree fell on the house and killed her. Ever since then, I have not liked being alone in a storm," she said, her head on his chest.

"I'm sorry, Zee-vah," Tony said, holding her closer to him.

**End Flashback**

Jeremy sighed, looking down at his watch, "I would love to, really I would, but I have an important meeting tomorrow morning I need to prepare for," he replied. "I promise I will make it up to you," he added, leaning his head down and giving Ziva a small kiss before walking away.

Ziva walked into the apartment the lonesome feeling suddenly enwrapping her. She knew she was in for a long night. After grabbing a sweatshirt from her bedroom, Ziva settled in on the couch and began watching the Magnum P.I. DVDs Tony had insisted she buy.


	2. Thunder and Jealousy

**_Here's the second chapter for ya'll. It's a lot longer than the first one, so I hope you enjoy it. It's kinda OOC for Ziva, but in a way it's still in character. Or, atleast I hope ya'll will see how I TRIED to make it relate to the Ziva we know...._**

**_Enjoy!!_**

Ziva sat at her desk drinking a fresh cup of coffee, trying to stay awake. The storm the night before had been louder and fiercer than she'd been used to. Her power went out about 2 a.m. and was still out when she left the apartment. Looking at the clock on her desk, Ziva figured she had about an hour before everyone else came to work, So, she decided to lay her head down for a few minutes.

However, the moment she closed her eyes, she heard the elevator ding, and heard the distinct grumbling of her team partner. Mentally growling, Ziva sat up and watched him walk to his desk. He seemed not to realize he was not alone. Instead, he grumbled under his breath as he turned his computer on and dug through his back pack.

"Did you lose power as well?" Ziva spoke up, causing Tony to freeze and look up.

"Yeah, tree fell on the lines about three blocks from my apartment," Tony replied. "Hope the storm didn't ruin your date last night," he added, Ziva noticing the way he said 'date.'

"Jeremy left before it began raining," Ziva answered, turning her attention to the computer screen, not catching the slight look of concern that washed over Tony's face for a split second.

Tony stole a quick glance in Ziva's direction a moment later. He could see she barely slept the night before, and somewhere inside he mentally kicked himself.

**Flashback**

"You are taking this to your head," Ziva yelled at Tony in the middle of the bullpen. "Just because Gibbs chose you as team leader, does not give you the right to treat everyone like your servants," she continued. "You are not Gibbs!"

"You don't think I know that? You don't think that every day I wake up, I hope the past few weeks were just a dream? That Gibbs would be sitting at this desk when I walk in, pissed off at something stupid I did?" Tony yelled back.

"That still does not give you the right to treat McGee and I like you are," Ziva said. "You are not the only one he left, Tony," she added, leaving Tony standing in the bullpen alone.

That night, Tony stood hesitantly in front of Ziva's front door. He hoped she had had enough time to calm down, but he prepared himself. When Ziva opened the door, Tony mentally grimaced at the glare she gave him.

"I bring a peace offering," Tony said, holding up a pizza and movie.

"And why should I forgive you?" Ziva asked, half-glaring at the man in front of her.

"Because you can't resist my famous DiNozzo charm and I brought your favorite pizza and movie," he said, causing Ziva to finally crack a smile before moving to let him through.

"I do not feel like watching a movie tonight," she said, shutting the door behind him. Tony cocked his eyebrow, trying to read Ziva's face as she walked towards him. "I don't want to watch television tonight, or talk," she whispered as she ran her fingers along the buttons on his shirt. Ziva looked into Tony's eyes for a split second before closing the distance and kissing his lips.

**End Flashback**

"Tony!" Tony heard Ziva say. Looking up, Tony was startled to see Ziva standing right in front of his desk. "Where were you just now?" she asked, curiously.

"Nowhere," he said, pushing his memories to the back of his mind. "What's up?" he asked, noticing her backpack slung over her right shoulder.

"Gibbs called, they found a dead Marine near Quantico," she explained. "They believe it is our missing man."

"Are we waiting for Gibbs?" Tony asked.

"He is going to pick up McGee and meet us there," she said. "Hurry up, I want to get some breakfast on the way," Ziva urged and Tony jumped into action.

The ride was awkward to say the least. They learned to act normal around the team; after all they'd acted as if nothing was going on in the past. However, when it was just the two of them, there was just something not the same.

"So, what does Jeremy do?" Tony asked as he drove down the road.

"He is a lawyer," Ziva said, looking out the window at the cars they passed.

"Abby seems to like him a lot," Tony commented, recalling the numerous times Abby mentioned the man's name. "When are the rest of us going to get a chance to meet him?" he asked, quickly glancing in her direction.

"Tony, I do not think it is a good idea for you two to meet right now," Ziva sighed. "When I think the time is right, I will introduce you, but until then, please do not do anything rash," she half-begged.

"Hey, I thought we got past all this," Tony said.

"There will always be something jumping up and reminding us," Ziva said.

"Popping up," Tony corrected before choosing not to say anything else. Their break up still left the two confused, although neither would admit that to the other.

Silence filled the air until Ziva's cell phone went off. Glancing at the caller i.d., Ziva bit her tongue before answering. "Hi," she said softly.

"I just went by your apartment, but you weren't there," she heard Jeremy say.

"Sorry about that," Ziva apologized. "I was going to call you whenever I had a chance. We got a case, and had to leave earlier than usual," she explained. "Tony and I are on the way as we speak," she added, already knowing where this conversation was going to go.

**Flashback**

"I never thought of you as a college football fan," Jeremy said one day, walking out of her bedroom carrying an OSU sweatshirt.

"I did not realize I still had that," she lied, silently berating herself for leaving it out in the open.

"This belong to the same person those DVDs belong to?" Jeremy asked.

"One, those DVDs all belong to me. I do not see why you do not believe me. And, second, my partner at work leant that to me after I fell into a creek during an investigation," Ziva explained. "I have not had a chance to give it back. There should be nothing here that belongs to Tony," she assured him, knowing that was far from the truth. Some of the dvds were hers, but many of them actually belonged to Tony. The sweatshirt was one she 'borrowed' one day and never gave back.

"I'm sorry," Jeremy said, sitting down by Ziva on the couch. "I'm just not used to being in a relationship like this," he admitted. "Every other relationship ended after one night, but I find myself not wanting this to end," he told Ziva who couldn't help but comparing what he said to Tony's past.

**End Flashback**

"Tony is your partner?" Ziva heard the frustration in Jeremy's voice.

"It is complicated, Jeremy," Ziva sighed, not wanting to get into a fight with Tony sitting right next to her. "Can we talk about this tonight?" she asked, hoping he would agree.

"You tell me," Jeremy scoffed. "Will you even remember to call me tonight? A case usually means you'll be out of sorts for the next couple days until it's over."

"I promise I will call tonight, no matter what is going on," Ziva said and Jeremy hung up soon after. Ziva closed her cell phone and leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes.

"Everything okay?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, everything is fine," Ziva said, hoping they would reach the crime scene soon.

Everything had seemed perfect when she and Jeremy first started dating. He was everything she dreamt of. Everything Tony was and more. With Jeremy she did not have the baggage that came with dating Tony. Jeremy was a gentleman in all aspects at the beginning, but something had changed in him. Ziva wished she could go back to the first few months. Back when Jeremy was the perfect man. Back when she could call him and forget about the rest of the world for a while.


	3. Tony meets Jeremy

**_Sorry it's taken so long to update! I've been busy getting my knee to work again. I've tried posting all day today, but there's rain around today, and my internet has been going off and on._**

**_Thanks for the reviews! Here's the next chapter for you. Enjoy!_**

Tony walked to his apartment door, wondering who could be visiting at this early in the morning. When he looked through the peephole, he did not immediately recognize the man. Opening the door, Tony asked, "Can I help you?"

"We've never met," the man said, smiling slightly. "I'm Jeremy Holdset, Ziva's boyfriend," he introduced.

"Never expected this to be the way I met you," Tony said, giving the man a hesitant DiNozzo smile. "Is everything okay?" he asked, hoping Ziva was okay.

"Yeah, Ziva's just fine. I'm actually on my way over there, but I wanted to stop by and talk to you for a second," Jeremy explained. "Mind if I come in?"

"Sure," Tony said, opening the door wider and allowing the man in.

"Nice photo," Jeremy commented, pointing to the photo of Tony and Ziva at the Christmas party two years ago. "How long have you known Ziva?" he asked, wondering around the room.

"She was transferred to NCIS three years ago," Tony answered, wondering where Jeremy was going with this.

"You two hit it off pretty good then, huh?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, I suppose we did," Tony said. "Sorry, but I don't see what any of this has to do with you?"

"Oh, it has everything to do with me," Jeremy hissed, walking up to Tony. "I want you out of Ziva's life," he whispered, the two glowering into each other's faces.

"That's kind of a hard thing to do, considering we're partners," Tony shot back. Jeremy just glared at him for a moment. Suddenly, Tony felt Jeremy's fist make contact with his stomach. When he doubled over in pain, Jeremy used the motion to kick Tony's legs from out from under him. Tony felt the air leave his chest the moment his back hit the floor.

"That can be changed," Jeremy smirked standing over a hurt Tony. "You best keep this between you and me if you know what's good for you," he warned before turning and leaving the apartment.

When Tony stormed into the office ten minutes late, Ziva was the only one in the bullpen.

"Where's Gibbs?" Tony asked, sitting in his chair while trying to hide the pain he still felt from the early morning encounter.

"With Ducky," she answered, noticing the somber mood he was in. "Gibbs will kill you when he finds out you were late again," she said, attempting to start their normal, fun bickering back up.

"I don't want to talk about it," Tony said, looking down at his paperwork.

"Was she that bad last night?" Ziva asked, trying to get Tony to open up.

"I said I didn't want to talk about it, Ziva. Just let it be," Tony said, not looking up. He knew the minute he looked into Ziva's big brown eyes he would be in trouble. The whole way to work, Tony racked his brain for what the best way to deal with this. He knew the moment he told Ziva what happened, she would accuse him of being jealous and trying to tear them apart. However, he also knew she would never forgive him if he didn't tell her.

Ziva leaned back in her chair, studying her partner's face. Something had definitely gotten under Tony's skin today, and she had a feeling she did not want to know what happened.

"I'm going to go say hi to Abby," Tony said a moment later, leaving before she could answer.

**Abby's Lab**

Tony walked into Abby's lab, looking around to make sure she was the only one there. "Hey, Abs," he said, walking up to her and handing her a Caf-Pow.

"Uh-oh, what's this going to cost me?" Abby asked, smiling at the man before her.

"Answer a hypothetical question for me," Tony said, leaning against the table. "Say that I knew this guy who had an early morning um… visit with his partner's boyfriend. The guy's gut tells him that there is more to this boyfriend than his partner knows. What do you think he should do?"

"When you say a 'visit,' in what context do you mean?" Abby asked. "Did the guy deliberately find the boyfriend, or did the boyfriend look for the guy?"

"Oh, the boyfriend definitely sniffed out the guy," Tony snorted. "The guy doesn't even wake up until he absolutely has to, why would he get up early just to talk to some man he's never met?" Tony pointed out.

"Did the boyfriend do or say anything that would make the guy think the way he does?" Abby asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tony lifted his shirt and showed Abby the bruise growing across his torso. "I don't think this was a 'let's be friends' introduction," Tony said sarcastically.

"Tony, you need to have Ducky check that out," Abby exclaimed.

"I'm fine, Abs," he assured her. Sighing, he asked, "What do I do, Abs? She won't believe me if I try to tell her, but will kill me if I don't tell her."

"Believe your gut," she told him. "And I will work on scoping out this man," Abby said. "No one is going to hurt my friend and get away with it," she fumed. "He will pay," she promised and Tony had to take a gulp.

**Bullpen**

When Tony walked into the bullpen, he was startled to find a man leaning against Ziva's desk talking to him. He knew instantly it was the same man he'd just seen not an hour ago at his apartment.

"I told you it was not a good thing for you to come here," Ziva scolded the man. "I thought you had a meeting this morning," she asked.

"It got canceled at the last minute," he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I thought we could go for lunch."

Neither seemed to pay any attention to Tony as he sat down at his desk or him glare at the man standing there smiling down at Ziva. How the man had nerve to walk into this building as if he'd done nothing wrong, was beyond Tony's imagination.

"Jeremy, this is my partner, Tony," Tony heard Ziva introduce. "That is McGee over there," she pointed towards a wide-eyed McGee. "I do not know where Gibbs is, or I would introduce you," she explained, looking at the empty desk to her left.

"Nice to meet you," Jeremy said, the smile on his face making Tony want to punch him. "Ziva talks a lot about her teammates. I'm glad I can finally put a face to the names," Jeremy said, looking over towards Tony, a smirk on his face.

Tony's cell phone broke the growing tension in the air. "Hey, Abs, what's up?" he asked. "K, we'll be right there," he said hanging up the phone while he stood. "Come on, McGee, Abby has something for us," he told the probie.

"Wait, I will go, too," Ziva spoke up, curious at the change in Tony.

"No," Tony clipped, turning to look at her. "Stay here with your _boyfriend_. We'll fill you in later," he told her.

The mixture of emotions in Tony's eyes threw Ziva for a slight moment. She saw hurt, sadness, frustration, and something else there that she just could not make out.

"Everything okay?" Jeremy asked Ziva when Tony and McGee left.

"Yeah," Ziva nodded to clear her head. "We are working on a case that has all of us a little stressed," she lied. "You never told me why you came here," she changed the subject.

"I thought I could take you out to lunch," Jeremy grinned down at Ziva again.

"It is not that easy, Jeremy," Ziva began. "Gibbs has been on a rampage today, and would not be happy if I left."

"I'm sure Tony and McGee can handle everything just fine," Jeremy insisted. "Come on, I know a great place down the road," he urged and Ziva gave in.

"I will meet you outside," Ziva sighed. "I need to go tell the others," she explained, grabbing her bag.

**Abby's Lab**

Ziva walked in and saw Tony, McGee, and Abby crowded around one of the computers. She could not see, so she asked, "What are you looking at?"

The three jumped at her voice, and turned around as Abby clicked the mouse.

"Ah, McGruff was just showing us some pictures of Jethro," Tony lied.

"I thought you said _Abby_ had something to show us?" Ziva asked, crossing her arms, knowing the three were hiding something from her.

Abby was the first to speak up, saying, "I found this new picture for my wall that I wanted to show you guys. I call it 'A Spinal Tap Gone Awry," with a little flair of her hands.

"Okay," Ziva sighed, knowing she would not get an honest answer out of any of them. "Listen, can you cover for me for about an hour?" she asked. "Jeremy wants me to go to lunch with him."

"But, Boss said that no one was to leave the building unless he gave them permission," McGee stumbled.

"Let her go, McGee," Tony spoke up. "She's never been one to follow orders," he said, looking into Ziva's eyes finally. "Have fun," he said.

Ziva wanted to ask Tony what was wrong, but knew it was not a good time. So, instead she turned and walked back to the elevator, feeling Tony's eyes bore down on her back as the elevator doors shut.

"Tony, we can't let her go with this guy," Abby spoke up not a moment after the elevator doors touched.

"We don't have a choice," he muttered to himself. "I don't care what you have to do, Abby, but find out who this guy really is before he does something," Tony urged the forensic scientist. "I'm going for a walk," he told the two before leaving the same way Ziva had.

"You don't think…" McGee began, but never finished. Both knew the answer, so the question didn't even need to be asked.


	4. Truths and Lies

**_Well, since today has been.....interesting for me, I figured I would go ahead and post a new chapter for yall. Today started about 6:30 when my family set off for a four hour drive to Louisville for a dr. appointment. About two hours in, we had a right front tire go flat. Luckily my cousin lived thirty minutes away so we switched vehicles with her and drove on to Louisville, arriving an hour late. Even better was the fact that the doctor was actually running an hour late, so we didn't have to wait very long. Then we had to return my cousin's truck and get ours (which my cousin had gotten a new tire for while we were gone). So we figured out that we were on the road for 10 hours and at the dr's office for 2 hours. So, I'm exhausted, but dang glad to be sitting on my comfortable bed where I can STRETCH!! haha_**

**_Enjoy this chapter! Thanks for all the reviews thus far I enjoyed them all!_**

Tony walked down the sidewalk; his destination unknown. Originally he'd planned on tailing Ziva and Jeremy, but he thought better of it. That would only lead to a possible confrontation that he would give anything to not have right now. Instead, Tony decided that he truly did need a walk to clear his mind. He had to figure out a way to tell Ziva what kind of man this was she was dating, but every way he came up with ended with Tony either brutally injured or murdered by numerous sorts.

"Tony?" Tony heard from a small sidewalk restaurant table to his right. "I thought you were still at the office?" Ziva asked, standing up from the corner table where she and Jeremy had just sat down to eat.

'Great,' Tony thought to himself. He had not wanted this to happen, but apparently fate was against him at the time. "Um, Probie and I were getting kind of hungry, so I offered to go get something to eat," he offered. "I didn't mean to interrupt you two," he said, this time sincerely.

"Come eat with us," Jeremy spoke up for the first time. "I'm sure Ziva would not mind; besides it would give us a good chance to get to know each other."

Ziva opened her mouth to say something, but Tony spoke first, "Thanks, but I really need to get back to the office before Abby goes all Hannibal the Cannibal on McBurger. Maybe some other time."

"I look forward to it," Jeremy smirked. The two men looked at each other, each silently sizing up the other, and Ziva felt the tension grow.

"Be sure to get Abby another Caf-Pow. I am sure she has probably inhaled the one you gave her already," Ziva said, breaking the silent struggle between the two men. Tony nodded his head and headed back down the street.

"Intriguing man, that partner of yours," Jeremy said, putting an icy tone on 'partner.' "It's a pity you two did not work out."

"Jeremy, do not start that, please," Ziva sighed. "It was well over two years ago."

"I am not so sure about that," Jeremy said his voice cold.

"I am not going to sit here and listen to you accuse me of going behind your back," Ziva said, standing up to leave but Jeremy grabbed her hand. Glaring fiercely down at Jeremy's hand and then at his face, Ziva said as calmly as she could, "Get your hand off me," as she jerked her arm away from his hold and left the table.

**NCIS**

"Why were you following us?" Tony heard a voice whisper in his ear as he stood in front of the sinks in the men's restroom.

Gulping, Tony turned around to see a very angry, yet confused Ziva standing not two inches from him. "I honestly had no idea you two were anywhere near," he said, holding up his hands in innocence. "If I'd known, I guarantee you that I would have gone the complete opposite direction," he told her.

"I do not believe you," Ziva replied.

"Ziva, there is no reason that I can think of for me to follow you and your boyfriend," Tony said. "I don't have a death wish."

"What is going on, Tony?" Ziva asked, referring to whatever was going on with him, Abby, and McGee.

"Alright, you caught us," Tony sighed. "We are actually planning a surprise birthday party for you, but since you are so nosy, I guess it'll just have to not be a surprise."

"Tony! Will you stop with the joking and tell me the damn truth?" Ziva exclaimed. "Why do you not trust Jeremy? Are you still jealous?" she accused.

"Jealousy has nothing to do with this," Tony said, staring back at her. "There is something about the man that I do not trust. I can't tell you what it is," he half-admitted. "I just have a gut feeling."

"Well, my gut is telling me that you are wrong," Ziva replied. "Jeremy is the nicest man I have ever met."

"Since when did the nice men become so protective of their women that she can't even ride in a car with her partner?" Tony asked. "And don't tell me that that was not what he was yelling about that day. Or, is it the fact that your partner just happens to be the man you dated for three months?" Tony finished his jaw muscles tight.

"It is complicated," Ziva told Tony.

"That's what you told him," Tony said quietly. "I'm sure you coming into the _men's_ restroom to talk to me is exactly the kind of thing your boyfriend is not happy with," he told her. "So let's make this easy: stay here as long as you like, and I will leave," he told Ziva as he slipped past her and out of the bathroom. 'Abby and McGee better have found something,' Tony thought to himself as he walked towards the stairs-he'd decided the extra work out would be beneficial right about now.

**Abby's Lab**

"Please tell me you found something," Tony said, walking into Abby's lab.

"The man is the portrait of a perfect citizen," Abby grimaced as she said it. "He's never been arrested, never had a traffic ticket, nothing," she explained. "I searched every database I could think of."

"How about any aliases?" Tony asked.

"I couldn't find any. I put his driver's license photo through the system, but didn't get a match," Abby explained.

"Have you tried international databases?" Tony asked.

"I'll try. Do you really think he is foreign?" Abby asked.

"At my apartment he had an accent that he didn't have when he came here this afternoon," Tony explained. "I didn't recognize it though."

"I will widen the search," Abby said, spinning to face her computer and began typing.

"Thanks, Abs," Tony said and left her to do her magic.

**Tony's Apartment**

Tony walked into his apartment that evening frustrated with everything. He knew there was something about Jeremy Holdset that they could not find. This was not jealousy creeping in and taking over, Tony told himself. He knew what jealousy was, as he'd been living with that every day since he let Ziva go.

Going into his room to change into more comfortable lounging clothes, Tony spotted a note lying on his bed. Picking it up, Tony quickly scanned what it said before crumbling it up and tossing it on the ground. He did not need empty threats to worry about tonight.

Why had he let her go? Tony wondered to himself as he threw himself down onto his couch. The answer was simple: Jeanne Benoit. Instead of spending his free time the way he truly wanted to, Tony had to assume the identity of one Tony DiNardo. He had to act as if she was the only one he cared about, but the truth was he still longed for the nights he spent with Ziva. It hurt him to see Ziva worry about him so, without knowing the truth of why he broke up. He could not go back and change the past. Too much had happened.

A half hour later, Tony grabbed a beer out of his fridge and leaned back against the counter to take a drink or two. It was then that the hairs on the back of Tony's neck stood straight up. He felt someone watching him, and decided to move away from the window. Just as he made to move, Tony heard the sound of breaking glass and felt something pierce his side. Falling onto the floor, Tony struggled to get to his phone before he totally blacked out.

He was only a foot from his cell phone when he felt his strength give out on him. He lay there on the floor feeling the blood slowly pour out of him, and prayed silently that someone would find him before it was too late.

**_Please don't hate me!! I promise to update as soon as I can. Or, I could leave ya'll in suspense... Depends on how evil I am and how convincing your beggings are._**


	5. Finding Tony

**_Well, I thought about waiting a day or so, but I gave in and decided to update today. Thanks for all the reviews. Enjoy._**

Gibbs sat in his car in front of Tony's apartment building. He was not sure what made him want to come here, but his gut was telling him it was the right thing. There'd been something going on with his senior agent, and after the even noticeable change, he knew it was time to figure it out. Ever since his return from Mexico, Gibbs could tell the dynamic had changed between Tony and Ziva, but he could never lay a finger on what exactly. For a while, he chalked it off to the transition back to partners, and paid no attention to it. Now he wondered if that had been a wise decision.

Gibbs just shut his car door, when he heard the faint sound of glass breaking. He'd thought he'd heard the faint pop of a silenced gun, but had shrugged it off as city sounds. Looking up, Gibbs saw the window in Tony's kitchen shattered, and his gut knew something happened. Running up the stairs to Tony's apartment, Gibbs drew his gun, preparing for the worst when he forced the door open.

"Tony?!" Gibbs called through the house, listening for any sign from his senior agent. Not hearing anything, Gibbs slowly began searching the rooms. Looking in the kitchen, Gibbs saw the blood trail leading into Tony's room and hurried to follow it, silently hoping that the other end did not lead to where he thought.

Just on the other side of the bedroom door, Gibbs saw Tony lying on his back. "DiNozzo, what happened?" he asked, holstering his gun and kneeling next to the Italian.

"I…don't know," Tony managed to whisper. "Shot came…from across the street," he struggled to say.

"Stay still," Gibbs said, pulling out his cell phone to call an ambulance. "You're going to be fine, Tony," he consoled the man.

Gibbs watched the ambulance drive away ten minutes later, its lights and sirens interrupting the peaceful night air. He'd have given anything to go with Tony and made sure he was fine, but someone needed to keep an eye on the apartment: it was now a crime scene.

It was only a matter of time before Ziva and McGee arrived at the apartment, both equally shocked and worried about the event.

"Did he say who did it?" McGee asked.

"Said it came from across the street," Gibbs nodded out the window. "I sent a team over to that building to clear it."

Ziva felt her stomach flip when she looked at the trail of Tony's blood on the floorboards. This was worse even then when Gibbs had been injured, she thought to herself. She felt sick just thinking back to her and Tony's last conversation together.

Lifting the camera to her eye, Ziva bit her lip when a pain shot through her side. She'd been watching a movie with Jeremy when Gibbs called and told her Tony had been shot. When she told Jeremy what happened and that she needed to get over there, Jeremy grew angry. He didn't see what the hurry was; after all Gibbs and McGee seemed able enough to sweep the crime scene alone. When Ziva insisted she leave, Jeremy reached out and tried to grab Ziva's hand. When she jerked her arm away from him, she lost her balance and fell against her coffee table in the middle of the room, hurting her side pretty good. She was sure she'd probably have a broken rib or two, but she'd had worse.

"Gibbs, in here!" she called, picking up a crumbled ball of paper lying next to Tony's bed.

"What?" Gibbs asked, looking at the paper in Ziva's hands. "Do you know anything about this?" he asked Ziva who shook her head.

"They only met this afternoon at work," Ziva explained.

"Apparently not," Gibbs sighed, looking at the paper once more.

"_I warned you once. Do not try to take Ziva away from me. I know all about your past escapades with her, but it's my turn now. If you do anything to change that, you will pay. JH_," the note read.

"I think you have some explaining to do," Gibbs said, turning to Ziva. "But I don't care about it right now. All I care about is finding the bastard who just shot my agent," he told her. "And right now, your boyfriend is looking mighty nice."

"Jeremy was with me from the time I got home to the moment I left my apartment to come here," Ziva provided Gibbs. "There is no way he could have shot Tony."

"Cute little alibi," Gibbs pointed out. "All he had to do was hire someone, and then be done with it."

"You have no proof," Ziva insisted, not wanting to believe any of this.

"I still want to talk to him," Gibbs said and Ziva nodded.

"I will ask him to meet me at NCIS," she said, turning to leave the way too familiar room.

Gibbs heard Tony's cell phone ring a few seconds later, and reached down to pick it up. Recognizing Abby's caller id, Gibbs took a deep breath and answered the phone.

"Please don't tell me it's true," Abby pleaded through the phone. "I need him to be okay. I found what he wanted."

"What did he want you to do?" Gibbs asked, scanning the room with his eyes.

"He told me that Jeremy came by his apartment this morning and threatened him. Said if Tony got near Ziva, he would pay. You should see Tony's stomach; it's all bruised from where Jeremy hit him. I swore I would find out what I could. I searched all day, and came up with nothing. I finally found him, but I'm too late," she rambled on, worried about Tony.

"You're not too late, Abs," Gibbs assured the young woman. "Tell me what you found."

"Jeremy Holdset has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Romania. His father was an American citizen, James Holdset. His mother, Andreea Banica, was born in Romania and never left. She died when Jeremy was born, and James brought his son to the states to live," Abby explained.

"The point, Abs?" Gibbs asked, rubbing his temples to ease the stress.

"Andreea Banica is the sister of Vladimir Banica, the man behind numerous bombings throughout Europe. He is near the top of the Mossad most wanted list," Abby explained. "Gibbs, Jeremy's real name is Vladimir Radu Banica-Holdset, but his father changed it when they moved here."

"Does he have connections with his uncle?" Gibbs asked, his gut already seeming to know the answer.

"I don't know yet. Vladimir, the uncle, went off the grid five years ago. I'm trying to track him down as we speak," she explained.

"I'll send McGee to help," Gibbs told her and hung the phone up. "McGee, I need you to head back and help Abby," he said, walking into the main room where Ziva and McGee stood. "Ziva, did you get a hold of him?" he asked.

"He is not picking up. I tried his cell and home phones, but both went to voicemail," she shook her head.

"McGee, put out a BOLO on Jeremy Holdset, aka Vladimir Radu Banica-Holdset, or any other variation of the name," Gibbs said. "I want him in my interrogation room now." When McGee left the apartment, Gibbs filled Ziva in on what Abby had told him. The most important thing we can do right now is go to the hospital and check on DiNozzo," Gibbs told her after she rattled off a few strings of Hebrew that Gibbs was sure he didn't want translated.

**_I know....I really didn't mention anything about Tony, but I promise you'll found out soon enough. After all, "Patience is virtue!"_**


	6. Waiting and Learning

**_Hey everyone, sorry that I took a little longer than I expected to update! My week has been hectic. Thanks for all the reviews. I have enjoyed reading them! _**

**_Here's the next chapter to the story, I hope you enjoy it! It may be a couple days before I can update with another chapter, but I will get it to you! I promise!_**

Ziva sat in the waiting room with Gibbs waiting for word on Tony's condition. "He tried to warn me," Ziva recalled the conversation in the men's bathroom earlier that day. "I refused to listen."

"If you would have listened, would anything have changed?" Gibbs asked. "Holdset would have just changed his plans. Instead of Tony in there, it could easily have been you, or the both of you," he pointed out. "Ziva, until I find this guy, I don't want you doing anything alone. You're a loose end."

"I want to find him myself," Ziva protested.

"You can, just be sure McGee or me are with you. You may be tough, but that might not be enough," Gibbs told her as the door opened to the waiting room.

"Jeanne?" Ziva asked, shocked to see the woman standing just inside the doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been working here for the past nine months," she explained, not looking particularly thrilled to see two reminders of her painful past in front of her. "What are you doing here?" she asked, subtly looking around the room, for Tony no doubt, Ziva thought.

Ziva glanced at Gibbs, trying to figure out what to say. When Gibbs did not act as if he was going to speak, Ziva said, "We are waiting for news on Tony. He was shot in his apartment a couple hours ago. The paramedics brought him here, since it was the closest hospital. Bethesda was too far."

Jeanne thought she was past Tony, having found a new boyfriend. Yet, the moment this woman mentioned his name, her stomach plummeted. At the same time, however, Jeanne recognized the look in her eyes.

"Have you heard anything?" Jeanne asked finally and both the dark-haired woman and the silver-haired man, Gibbs she remembered, shook their heads no.

"He has been in surgery since we arrived exactly one hour, fifteen minutes and about twenty seconds ago," Ziva explained, looking at her watch.

"I can see what I can find out," Jeanne told the two, turning and leaving the room. She had no idea why she was helping these people, but there was something in the woman's eyes that made her want to help. Jeanne noticed the worry in her eyes and knew there were more emotions hidden behind those eyes.

When she returned, Jeanne noticed that only the woman was in the room. "Where's Agent Gibbs?" she asked the woman.

"He needed to call the director and give an update, and to get coffee," Ziva said. "Did you find out anything?"

"There is a massive amount of bleeding in his abdomen," Jeanne said, dipping into her doctor's mindset, but feeling her stomach in knots. "Dr. Andrews is doing his best to stop it," she explained. "I think I liked it better when I thought he was a college professor," Jeanne admitted, sitting a couple seats down from Ziva.

"I do not," Ziva let out a small chuckle. "It was not the best of times for the team," she told the woman.

"Jeremy did this didn't he?" Jeanne asked quietly her face pale.

"How do you know Jeremy?" Ziva asked, shocked at this revelation.

"I practically grew up with him," Jeanne explained. "He was close to my father."

"When was the last time you spoke to him?" Gibbs asked, having walked in just in time to hear what Jeanne said.

"Last week," Jeanne answered. "He said he was in town with his girlfriend, and wanted to meet for lunch. Said I would really be surprised at what he'd done. I asked him what, and he said he'd managed to find the weakness of the man who hurt me," she explained. "I thought he meant that man who worked for my father. I should have realized he meant Tony."

Ziva looked at Gibbs, and knew he was thinking the same thing she was: Jeremy used her to get under Tony's skin. This thought only made Ziva angrier, and, before she knew what was going on, she found herself outside the hospital.

How could she have been so blind? She should have realized no man would ever be so perfect unless they were hiding something. Her Mossad training should have warned her, but she had let her guard down. And, now her partner was in surgery fighting for his life all because of her.

"You must be Ziva," she heard Jeanne say a few minutes later. Ziva turned to look at her questioningly. "Tony slipped and said your name a few times when he was talking about his past relationships."

"I am his partner at work," Ziva explained. "That was probably why," she offered for an excuse.

"NCIS teammates watch movies together late at night? And spend the weekends together?" Jeanne asked, knowing the answer.

Ziva leaned her head back against the wall. "We broke up about the time he met you," she explained. "It was a long time ago, things have changed," Ziva assured Jeanne. "We are just partners and that is all."

Jeanne studied the woman next to her. No matter how hard she tried to assure Jeanne, there was no hiding that Ziva did not believe a word she said. "He never got over you," Jeanne confided. "A part of me always knew our relationship would never last. I knew he was still in love with you, so I took every day as a gift. I thought the longer he was with me, the more he would forget you," she explained. "Can I ask you if you were the woman Jeremy was talking about?" Jeanne asked a moment later.

Nodding, Ziva asked, "When is the last time you saw him?"

"We met for lunch about three months ago. He wanted to know how I was doing after everything with Tony and my father," Jeanne explained.

"Do you have any way of contacting him? An address anything?"

"He gave me a number, said that if I ever needed anything to call it," Jeanne said. "I don't understand what's going on," she told the two, suddenly feeling as if she was having déjà vu.

Ziva explained to the doctor what they knew about Jeremy, and the woman stared off into space. "It is imperative that we find him, Jeanne," Ziva explained. "We need to find out what he is up to, before he does something else."

"I'll give you everything I know, but please do not tell him I helped. I don't want caught up in any more of my father's dealings," Jeanne told her.

"We can arrange for you to start a new life," Gibbs said from to the right of the two women. "One without any connection to your father," he promised as he pulled his cell phone out to call Director Vance.


	7. Trying to Find Vengence

**_I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in forever! I kinda hit writer's block for the first time in my life..... _**

**_Here is the next chapter for ya'll. Hope you enjoy it._**

Gibbs and Ziva sat in the waiting room two hours later, waiting for Jeanne to return with an update on Tony's condition.

"It's not your fault, Ziva," Gibbs said, breaking the silence in the room.

"You do not know that, Gibbs," Ziva replied. "I should have known who he was. I know all about Vladimir Banica. One of my previous assignments was to find him, but he evaded us. Jeremy looks just like the man; I should have realized it from the beginning. I was not thinking," she rambled.

"The best thing you can do right now is forget about the coulda, shoulda, woulda," Gibbs said, recalling the phrase Shannon used to use all the time. "Focus on finding the man and figuring out what his plan is. There's more to all this than just killing Tony," Gibbs explained.

"How can you be sure?" Ziva asked before lifting her hand. "Never mind, I know the answer: your gut." Gibbs cracked a smile at that, and Ziva thought to herself that it was one of the only times she'd ever seen the Marine smile. "Do you think he will be okay?" Ziva asked, quietly.

"He doesn't have permission to die," Gibbs said simply. "Besides, I have a feeling he has some unfinished business," Gibbs said his eye twinkling. "All I ask if that you keep it out of the office. If I so much as see an intimate look between the two of you, I will kick your sixes to Greenland," he warned.

"Understood," Ziva smiled, and turned her eyes to the waiting room door, urging it to open with Jeanne walking in with good news.

It was only five minutes later that Jeanne walked in. Immediately, Ziva could see the relieved look in the woman's face, and knew that the news would be better than before.

"Is he out?" she asked.

"Yes," Jeanne said, smiling for the first time since walking into the room. "Dr. Andrews expects him to make a full recovery, but it will be a gradual process," Jeanne cautioned. "He said there was a lot of bleeding, so he does not expect Tony to wake up for a few days, allowing his body time to heal. Dr. Andrews also noted some bruising on Tony's stomach that he believes happened before Tony was shot," Jeanne told the two.

"He had an altercation earlier in the day," Gibbs explained not mentioning Jeremy's name. "Thanks for helping us, Ms. Benoit. After everything you've been through, I'm sure this has not been easy on you."

"No it hasn't, but in a way I am glad this happened. I know now that I can fully move on and forget about everything," Jeanne told the two. "I need to get going. I have a meeting with your director about three hours from now," she explained, looking at her watch. "Wow, I can't believe it's already five," she exclaimed. "My shift ended five hours ago."

"Thanks for everything," Ziva said. Jeanne smiled in return, knowing exactly what Ziva meant.

"Take care of him," Jeanne told her before leaving the waiting room for good.

As time passed, Ziva felt her eye lids grow heavy, and she slowly fell asleep. She'd tried fighting it for as long as she could, but her body was exhausted.

Gibbs watched the Israeli as she slept, and knew it was probably the best thing for her to do right now. Soon, they would have to head back to work and find the man responsible for all this. However, they could afford a couple hours of relaxing, after all, they weren't going to be worth anything if they ran themselves ragged. That would only give Jeremy a better chance at escaping.

**An Hour Later**

Ziva awoke with a start, and it took a moment for her to regain her surroundings. Looking to her left, she say Gibbs sitting by the window looking outside. "Why did you not wake me?" she asked, stretching to get the kinks out of her body. "We need to find Jeremy."

"You're no good to us exhausted," Gibbs explained, drinking from his coffee cup. "Doctor said we could go back and see Tony for a few minutes before we left," he told her, standing up. "If you don't want to, then that's fine," Gibbs said, gently.

"No, I want to," Ziva said, nodding her head in affirmation.

As the two agents walked towards Tony's room, both silently prepared for what they would find. Approaching the door, Gibbs stopped and said, "I'll let you have a few moments alone."

Ziva looked at him, but didn't say anything. She didn't want to admit that her nerves were getting the best of her, and she was trying to calm herself down. She knew that on the other side of that door right in front of her was the man she'd loved but refused to admit it.

Walking into the hospital room, Ziva saw Tony lying pale on the bed in the middle of the room. He did not look like the Tony she was used to seeing. The humor on his face was gone; all that was left was a ghost of a face. Staring at him, Ziva saw what she'd been missing the past few months. She saw the stress lines that had formed on his face.

"Hi, Tony," she whispered gently, walking closer to the bed. "You need to wake up," she urged. "I do not think I can stand it if you die because of me. I should have known Jeremy was capable of this. I just did not want to believe it. I thought that by ignoring him, and keeping him away from you I could keep everything fine. I am sorry, Tony," she continued. "I promise I will find him and make him pay for doing this. I should have been there for you this past year. I did not realize how much stress you been dealing with," she traced his hairline gently. "I could tell you were hurting after the team was split, but I did not try to help. Instead, I took care of my own selfish needs. Please wake up, Tony. I need you," she said before bending down and kissing his forehead gently.

**NCIS**

"Have you found anything?" Gibbs asked, walking into Abby's lab where Abby and McGee were huddled over their keyboards.

"We tried to triangulate the number you gave us last night," McGee explained.

"It's a satellite phone so encrypted it would take days to find its signal," Abby spoke up.

"What else you got?" Gibbs asked.

Abby turned to her computer, "Jeremy Holdset traveled to Romania a year ago, returning three months later. It looks like nothing but a simple visit with family. However, during that time, there were three bombings in Greece, Italy, and France with the same MO as Vladimir Banica's previous attacks."

"Jeremy took over his uncle's business," Gibbs figured. "Have you found anything about the uncle?" he asked.

"It's like he fell off the face of the earth," Abby said. "I'm trying to back-trace Jeremy to five years ago, but it's proving just as complicated."

"I will call my contacts and see what they can find out," Ziva said, leaving the lab to go to her desk.

**Two hours later**

Gibbs walked in the bullpen after going for another round of coffee. "Do your contacts know anything?" he asked stopping in front of Ziva's desk.

"Mossad has been investigating Jeremy for the past five years. There were rumors that led them to believe Jeremy took over his uncle's business after Banica's death five years ago. Apparently these surfaced after I was taken off the case to keep track of Ari," Ziva explained.

"Why didn't they notify the U.S.?" McGee asked. "After all, Jeremy is an American citizen."

"You will learn, McGee, that countries do not always cooperate with each other like you think. Each wants the glory for themselves," Gibbs explained. "What are we missing?" Gibbs asked, staring at the picture of Jeremy on the screen in front of him. "McGee, I want to know everything about Jeremy's father that you can find. What's his connection?"

"On it, Boss," McGee said, getting to work.

"David, you spent more time with Jeremy lately than anyone else. What ulterior motive would he have for all of this?" Gibbs asked. "He has more planned than shooting DiNozzo, and we need to figure that out."

Ziva racked her brain trying to think of six months worth of conversations. "He had meetings all over the place. I assumed they were clients, since he told me he was a lawyer. Have you tried his cell phone records?" she asked McGee.

"Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The only number he called more than a handful of times was yours," McGee explained.

"Give them to Ziva, maybe a name or something will pop out to her," Gibbs ordered.

"Gibbs, look at this," Ziva said thirty minutes later. "Jeremy called ten different prepaid cell phone numbers in the past two months. If I were planning an attack, that is exactly what I would do."

"Keep changing burn phones so that it would be harder to trace," Gibbs added. "McGee, is there any way we can locate where these calls were made?" he asked, pointing at the screen.

"It may take some time, but I think so," McGee said, beginning to type on his computer.

"Gibbs, I found something," Abby exclaimed, running into the bullpen. "McGee told me you wanted Jeremy's father's background, so I decided to help out. He wasn't the perfect citizen. He led a group of students in 1965 protesting the Vietnam War. The next year he was being investigated for helping plan the bombing of a local recruiting office, but there was not enough evidence to convict him. Two months later he moved to Romania and married Andreea Banica,' Abby explained. "Even after he returned to the U.S. in 1975, he seemed to push the law as far as possible. In 1992 the FBI began investigating a possible connection between James Holdset and everyone's favorite international arms dealer," she said, pointing to the plasma where she pulled up a photo of La Grenouille.

"Did they find one?" Ziva asked.

"CIA blocked the case when Kort infiltrated," Abby said.

"Good job, Abs," Gibbs said, kissing her cheek on his way to his desk.

"I got more, Gibbs," Abby smiled slightly. "I ran the bullet McGee found in Tony's apartment through the database. I planned on settling down with a bowl of popcorn to wait for the results, but I got a match before my popcorn even finished popping." She stopped rambling at the look Gibbs gave her. "It was shot from a Bravo-51. This particular gun was found in pieces in dumpsters throughout a three mile radius of Tony's apartment. The shooter was careful to not get any fingerprints on the gun."

"The owner?" Gibbs asked.

"As far as I can tell, it never had one," Abby shrugged her shoulders. "I traced the parts back to a factory in the south of France, but I hit a dead-end. The VIN number on the gun is not listed in any database I could find."

"You don't think Jeremy Holdset is in the arms-dealing ring, do you, Boss?" McGee asked and Gibbs looked at him.

"He's in more than we know," Gibbs started. "What we have to figure out is what he is planning to do. Whatever it is, he's going to do it soon," he told the team. "McGee, have you found where those calls were made yet?" he asked, walking over to McGee's desk.

McGee typed a bit on the keyboard in front of him, pulling up a map on the plasma for everyone to see. "All of the calls were made within a 50 mile radius of Richmond," he explained. "That's as close as I could get," he apologized.

"That's as close as you need," Vance said, walking into the bullpen. "I believe I know where Holdset is planning to attack.


	8. Lamar's Coffeehouse

**_Hi everyone, I hope ya'll are doing good! Sorry I ain't updated as often as I did initially. I'm getting ready to move back down to the dorms, so my lifes been hectic. _**

**_Thanks for being patient with me! Here's the next chapter for you. Enjoy_**

"_That's as close as you need," Vance said, walking into the bullpen. "I believe I know where Holdset is planning to attack._

The team looked at the Director, waiting for him to tell them more. "The funeral for Congressman Parker's son is on Friday. He died in a roadside bombing in Iraq last Thursday. The congressman has been very public with his views on the war and the illegal arms trade, earning criticism and threats from across the world. Many top officials are going to be at this funeral, so it's a prime target for an attack," he explained to the group.

"That does not make sense," Ziva spoke up. "If Jeremy is in charge of a big arms-dealing ring, why would he risk it all to kill a few American diplomats? There is something more going on than what we are seeing."

"I am still going to suggest extra security based on these new developments," Vance told the team. "I want these men caught before something happens," he ordered before leaving the team standing there.

"Something is not adding up," Ziva said, her mind in overdrive. "If Jeremy is as powerful as it seems, he would not make it this obvious. He would have waited to shoot Tony until after he finished his original plan. He would know the moment we started investigating him, we would jump to conclusions."

"He's wanting our attention focused away from the real target," Gibbs understood. "What are we missing?" Gibbs asked, banging his hands down on his desk hard. This man purposefully made his team weak, and that really pissed Gibbs off. His best agent was lying in the hospital in serious condition all because of this man. He used Gibbs' other agent as access to whatever he needed: whether it was to get Tony or for his other plans. _'Holdset better hope we don't find him,'_ Gibbs thought to himself. _'We are going to be his worst nightmare.'_ Standing up, Gibbs walked to the center of the room, "Let's go back to the beginning," he said. "Whatever plan he has, he planned before setting foot in D.C. We need to find out any known terrorists that Jeremy Holdset would have met in the past year."

Gibbs stood staring at the picture of Jeremy Holdset on the plasma screen, trying to think of anything that could help find the man, when his cell phone started ringing at his hip.

"Yeah, Gibbs," he said, absentmindedly.

"Ah, Agent Gibbs, I am sorry we did not get to meet in person," the voice said.

"You can always come by," Gibbs responded and McGee and Ziva realized who he was talking to.

"I am sure by now that your team is working their tails off trying to find me," Holdset said. "Hope you're not getting too overworked for my sake."

"Make it easier: where are you?" Gibbs asked.

"Now why would I do that?" Jeremy asked. "My plans are not yet complete. Soon, though we will meet."

"How soon?"

"Soon," Jeremy said, ending the call.

"Dammit," Gibbs said, looking at the phone in his hands.

"He used a pay phone, I'm trying to locate it now," McGee spoke up, typing rapidly on his computer. "Boss, he used the payphone outside of Lamar's's Coffeehouse…" he said, but was cut off.

"That's two blocks from my apartment," Ziva interrupted, and she and McGee went to grab their guns, expecting Gibbs to take off.

"It's a trick," Gibbs told the two. "He wants us to look in the wrong direction. More time means more chance of success for his plans," he explained.

"We need to go check it out," Ziva said. "I think it would be smart."

"McGee, go with her and see if you find anything," Gibbs ordered. "Do not let her out of your sight for a second," he warned the young man.

McGee and Ziva nodded as they headed towards the elevators. The ride was quiet with McGee keeping quiet, scared that Ziva would go off on him if he said the wrong thing.

Arriving at the coffeehouse, the two looked around for any signs of Jeremy. Ziva walked into the phone booth, looking for anything that could help them find the man. Looking down, Ziva spotted a tape recorder taped to the underside of the phone box.

"McGee, over here," she said, pulling the recorder loose.

"Should we play it?" McGee asked, noticing the small box in Ziva's hands when he walked up.

Ziva did not answer, instead she pressed the play button and Jeremy's voice came out of the speaker.

"If you want to find me, let's play a little game. My plans were rushed by the overzealousness of one of my men, but that only makes it more exciting," the two heard. "For the sake of the game, we will pretend to step one was killing Anthony DiNozzo. In order for you to try to stop me, you'll have to play along. Now, Agents Gibbs and McGee may not understand this step, but I'm sure Ziva will. This place was very special to her. If you decide to play along, you'll know what to do next," Jeremy's voice ended.

McGee looked at Ziva, about to ask her if she knew what Holdset was talking about, but knew the look on Ziva's face. He could tell she was thinking about something very hard, and did not want to interrupt her train of thought.

Ziva leaned back against the phone booth, trying to recall when she'd ever told Jeremy about this place, but failed to do so. Finally it dawned on her, "He spied on me," she said, walking towards the building's doors. "He followed Tony and I that is the only reason he would know about this place. I have not come here since we stopped dating," Ziva explained, walking to the far corner booth against the front window.

"You and Tony dated?" McGee asked, trying to make sense of what Ziva was saying.

"Every time we came here, we sat at this booth. Tony said it reminded him of the booth on 'Bones,'" she continued, ignoring McGee. All of a sudden she stopped in her tracks and McGee almost ran into her. "Michael should have known this," she muttered to herself, adding a few slurs of Hebrew.

**Flashback**

"You know I do not like coffee after I run," Ziva protested as Tony practically dragged her into the Lamar's Coffeehouse.

"Anyone who tortures themselves with a three mile run in subzero weather ought to treat themselves to a nice cup of hot chocolate," Tony explained to her as he rubbed his hands together to heat them up. "And, since you were did not have any at the apartment, this is a good place."

Ziva laughed, sometimes Tony reminded her of a little child. "Just this once," she gave in. "You have to pay though," she added. "I did not bring any money."

Tony feigned shock. "Have I ever made you pay for anything?" he asked, smiling at her. "Go sit down and I'll bring your hot chocolate to you," he said, ushering her towards where the seating was.

Ziva smiled as she found a seat in one of the empty booths. Unconsciously, Ziva chose the booth against one of the walls, to keep her safe from the back.

"You know what this place reminds me of?" Tony asked as he handed her a cup and sat down across from her. When she shook her head, Tony continued, "It reminds me of the little restaurant they go to all the time on 'Bones.'"

"You think so?" Ziva asked, looking around at the place. "I do not see the resemblance," she said, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "How did your meeting with the Director go?" she asked after a little bit.

Tony leaned back in his seat, staring at the cup in his hands for a moment before answering, "She needs someone to do some undercover work. I don't know why she didn't choose any of the agents that usually do this kind of stuff."

"She trusts you," Ziva explained.

**End Flashback**

"Ziva," McGee said loud enough to get her attention. When she turned around, McGee asked, "When were you going to tell Abby and me about you and Tony?"

Sighing, Ziva replied, "It was a long time ago, and got rather complicated. It is something that never should have happened."

"When?" McGee asked. "Was it when Tony was team leader?"

Ziva nodded, "It did not last long. Work got in the way."

"Does Gibbs know?" McGee asked.

"I do not believe so," she said, turning her attention back to the booth in front of her. "We have to find Jeremy, McGee," Ziva said unusually quiet. "Before someone else gets hurt."

"Since that's the case, we need to get this back to Abby," McGee said, picking up a newspaper from off the table.

"McGee, everyone reads the paper here," Ziva said, nodding towards the customers in the room.

"How many of them read a newspaper in another language?" McGee replied, holding it up to show Ziva.

**Two Hours Later**

Ziva managed to get away from Gibbs and McGee. Hiding behind the stairs, Ziva dialed a number and waited for an answer. When she heard the familiar voice, Ziva said, "We need to talk."

"I will set up a video conference in thirty minutes," the voice said, hanging up before Ziva could reply. Leaning against the wall, Ziva closed her eyes, hoping the headache that pounded in her head would leave.


	9. DC, Germany, Israel

**_Please forgive me for taking so long to post this chapter. I had to move back down to the dorm, so I just now found the time to breath. _**

**_THanks for the reviews, and for reading this story, and for being patient with me!_**

"Care to fill me in?" Gibbs asked, startling Ziva who opened her eyes to look at him.

"I do not know what you mean," Ziva replied not looking into Gibb's eyes

"Ziva, Vance already has enough material to send you back to Israel and Tony to Antarctica. Don't give him more," Gibbs told the Israeli.

"I have a meeting with the Deputy Director of Mossad in less than thirty minutes," Ziva explained. "I do not believe they have been telling us everything about Jeremy." Gibbs stared at Ziva and she knew he wanted her to explain further. "When I confronted Michael Bashan about Namir Eschel two years ago, he informed me that my father had ordered me followed. I never told Jeremy about Lamar's Coffeehouse. He had to of had me followed, too," she explained.

"Or the Mossad agents following you was rogue," Gibbs added.

"Either way, my father should have realized what was going on," Ziva stormed. "Did Abby find anything on the newspaper or tape recorder we found?" she asked.

"Newspaper's from Berlin. Dated May of last year," Gibbs explained. "Nothing in it connects to anything in the D.C. area."

**MTAC**

Ziva stood in front of the large screen in MTAC, vaguely aware of Gibbs and Director Vance standing just a few feet behind her. Her mental clock ticked off the seconds as she waited for the tech to signal.

When the man sitting at the computer finally announced an incoming feed from Tel Aviv, Ziva mentally prepared herself for facing her father. When the screen flickered to show her father's face staring at her, she said, "Shalom, Father."

"Shalom, my daughter," Eli David replied. "It is nice to see you again."

Ziva chose to ignore the pleasantries her father said, saying, "I need the intel you gathered two years ago when you ordered me followed. We believe Vladimir Radu Banica-Holdset had his own operation watching at the same time."

"If that was true, I would have been told at the time," Eli David stated as he walked off screen towards the filing cabinets in the corner of the room.

"Perhaps one of your agents was rogue," Gibbs spoke up from behind Ziva.

"Highly unlikely," David answered. "I assigned two of my most trusted men," he explained, searching through the middle drawer. Pulling out a folder, he opened it as he walked back into the screen.

"Which men?" Ziva asked. She knew most of the men her father allowed in the small circle of trusted agents.

The three standing in MTAC watched the Deputy Director's facial expression change, and knew immediately something was wrong. "One of the agents assigned to watch you was the man I assigned to infiltrate Banica's team," he told the three.

"He much have used the information on Officer David to get close to Banica," Vance said. "Is there any way to contact the man?" he asked.

"Eli shook his head solemnly, "We lost contact with him in Russia the beginning of last year. He was found murdered in Berlin last May."

"Gibbs and Ziva perked up at that. It was the same time as the newspaper Ziva and McGee found at the Coffeehouse.

"He knew something he shouldn't have," Gibbs said. "We have reason to believe Holdset is planning an attack on American soil, but don't know where. Do you have any intel that could help us?" he asked.

"Officer Shahein mentioned rumblings going around inside Banica's team about something big in the works," David explained. "He died before he could tell us anymore. He also mentioned Banica seemed preoccupied with an Anthony DiNardo's relationship with Ziva. According to Shahein, Banica showed more interest in learning about them then he did with the running of the team."

"Thank you, Director David," Vance said, stepping up to beside Ziva.

"When you find this man, Special Agent Gibbs, my only regret will be that I could not get to him sooner," Eli David said to the silver-haired Marine standing to Ziva's left, before closing the feed and leaving the three standing there looking at a blue screen.

Vance turned to Gibbs and Ziva and asked, "What do you two know that I don't?"

Gibbs glared at Vance quietly, trying to keep from saying what he really wanted to say. "You know all that we know at this time, Director," Gibbs said, adding an emphasis on the last word.

"Keep me in the loop, Gibbs," Vance said, before leaving MTAC.

**Abby's Lab**

Ziva followed Gibbs out of the elevator and into Abby's lab. "Abby what day was the newspaper dated?" Gibbs asked, handing the girl a fresh Caf-Pow.

Abby took the drink with a smile and turned back to the computer. "It was dated May 19, 2008. I looked all over this thing, Gibbs. There's no forensic evidence. No fingerprints, no hair, no traces of anything."

"Was there an article about a murder investigation?" Gibbs asked, staring over the goth's shoulders.

Abby shot Gibbs a questioning look, before turning back to her computer, typing for a bit. "There was a small article, only a couple paragraphs, on the very last page that mentioned a group of nuns finding the body of a Middle Eastern man the night before. The coroner estimated his time of death to be two days before that," she explained.

"Any suspects?" Ziva asked, scanning the German print herself. "Wait," she exclaimed just as Abby was about to answer her previous question. "Zoom out some, Abby," Ziva said, signaling at the screen.

When Abby zoomed the view out to the full page, Gibbs saw what Ziva had noticed. "Dammit," Gibbs exclaimed, storming out of the room with Ziva on his heels, just as pissed. As they reached the door, Gibbs almost ran over McGee who scrambled out of the way just in time. Looking at Abby for answers, McGee followed her finger to the screen where McGee recognized the smirk of a smile staring back at him. "McGee, come on," the two heard Gibbs bark from the elevator and the probie took off.

**In Gibb's Car**

"Jeremy Holdset has been using the name Adam Bierwith since 2001 when the real Adam Beirwith died of natural causes," Abby explained to the three as Gibbs roared down the highway, weaving in and out of traffic. "He is working with the laboratory next door to Bethesda. Gibbs, they are testing a new, modified version of the same BZ gas Sharif tried to use," she exclaimed into the speaker phone.

"He's been stalling us all along," Gibbs hissed, banging the steering wheel.

"Director Vance notified the security at the lab. According to their records, Holdset is still inside the building," McGee explained as Gibbs jerked the car into the parking lot, the car tires screeching.

As soon as the three agents got out of the car, Gibbs began barking orders, "Ziva, I want you to take two men and go to the hospital. My gut tells me that the bastard still knows Tony's alive. McGee, you're with me." Ziva began to protest Gibbs' orders, but he stopped her, "I know you can hold your own, that's why I need you over there." Still not happy with that, Ziva set off towards the hospital grumbling under her breath. When Ziva walked into Tony's room, she stopped short when she found the bed empty. Looking around, Ziva could not find Tony anywhere.

"Where is the patient that is supposed to be in this room?" Ziva asked the nurse at the desk just outside the door.

"The doctor came in and said he needed to run some more tests," the nurse explained.

"What kind of tests did Dr. Andrews say needed to be done?" Ziva asked, trying to keep her calm.

The nurse looked up at the Israeli and shook her head, "It wasn't Dr. Andrews."

"Who was it then?" Ziva asked.

"He didn't say, and I didn't ask. I assumed it was one of the new surgeons they hired two months ago," the nurse said, sinking into her chair squirming under the death glare Ziva was giving the nurse.

"If anything happens to him, I will personally make sure you are lying in one of those rooms," Ziva warned as she turned away from the desk and faced the two men. "Spread out, see if you can find Tony or Holdset," she ordered. "Gibbs, Tony is gone," she said into the mic of radio.

"We're on our way," Gibbs replied, setting off out of the empty lab room assigned to Holdset, leaving a group of agents there to secure it.

Gibbs and Ziva were searching for any clues in Tony's room when Dr. Andrews walked in.

"They just told me what happened," Dr. Andrews told her. "Tony is not stable enough for this. If we don't find him soon, it could be critical," he warned.

"When was the last time you checked on him?" Gibbs asked.

"I made my rounds about two hours ago," Dr. Andrews explained. "I was coming back to check on him after lunch," he explained as McGee hurried into the room.

"Boss, I got something," he said.

**_There is only a couple more chapters left in this story. I promise that I will get this story finished before the end of August!!!!!!!!!!_**


	10. Saving Tony

_**Thanks everyone for reading my story so far, and thanks for the reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter.**_

"I searched through the security tapes to see if I could find where he took Tony," McGee rambled. "I was able to find Holdset driving Tony's bed out of the room and down this hall," he ran the footage for Gibbs and Ziva to see. "I managed to track them all the way to the top floor after that I lost them. The cameras on that floor have nothing but snow," he explained, switching to one to demonstrate.

"What's on the top floor?" Gibbs asked Dr. Andrews.

"The ventilation system for the whole hospital," the doctor said.

"Boss, if Holdset manages to set off the BZ gas in the ventilation, everyone in this hospital will be killed," McGee explained the obvious.

Gibbs turned to the security force leader, "I want every person that can be evacuated out now! Those that can't, I want on the bottom floors," he ordered. If Holdset was planning on releasing the BZ gas, he'd already had plenty of a head start. "Ziva, McGee, and you three you're with me," Gibbs ordered taking off down the hall with them following.

In the stairway to the top floor, Gibbs turned to the four. "McGee, take these men and go to the rooftop. If Holdset has managed to release the chemical already, his only escape would be up there," he ordered quietly. McGee nodded his head and set off up the stairs with the three men behind him.

**Tony**

Tony mentally groaned. His mind was still very cloudy, but his whole body felt like it had been hit by a truck. His eyes refused to open; the lids feeling like lead weights. As he lay there, he tried to figure out where he was, and what he was doing being moved around like he was. Slowly, his mind cleared up and he remembered standing in his kitchen, feeling a bullet tear through his side, and Gibbs's face staring down at him worried.

Tony's gut told him that something was not right, but his eyes refused to open up for him to look around. He heard the machine to his left beat in time to his heartbeat and he felt another machine push air in and out of his lungs through the tube he had shoved down his throat. He wondered just how long he'd been out. Opening his eyes, Tony immediately wished he hadn't of. The lights were way too bright for his eyes to adjust to.

"Ah, you're awake," Tony heard an eerily familiar voice say from behind him. "That just makes this all even better." Tony felt his heart plummet when his brain matched a face to the voice; it was Jeremy Holdset.

Tony raked his brain, trying to figure out a way to get out of the predicament he was in, but could not see any. He had no clue as to how bad his injuries were; all he knew was that they hurt like hell. Not to mention the fact that he would never be able to pull this tube from his throat—even though he was sure he'd seen in happen in the movies.

Tony felt the bed his was laying on stop in the middle of the room the two had just entered. "I'm sure you are curious as to what my plans are," Holdset said, peering over Tony so he could see the man's smirk. "I could tell you, but that would ruin the surprised."

Holdset walked out of Tony's line of sight, and all Tony could hear was a bunch of clanging and moving around from his left. "You know, Anthony, my original plan was to steal the woman you loved away from you and make you suffer, but as time went by I began to enjoy Ziva's company. The impatience and constant talking about her partner at work were a little annoying, but her love-making made up for all that," Holdset remarked and Tony heard the machine start beating faster as his pulse quickened. "It is too bad that she never got over you," Holdset continued, "I could have given her the perfect life with everything she could imagine."

Tony wished that he could get up and beat the son-of-a-bitch with his own bare hands at this point, but he knew there would be no chance of him being able to do so. Instead, Tony had to hope and pray that Gibbs and the team would find him before it was too late.

"Now, you are going to be the perfect first test subject for my plan," Holdset said, walking just into Tony's peripheral vision. "By the time you and everyone in this building are withering in pain from this BZ gas, I will be long gone and your little NCIS friends will never find me," Holdset sneered. Tony's pulse began racing at the mention of the familiar chemical. "Oh, and don't think you're friends will get here in time. I have them on a little goose chase, retracing everywhere you went with Ziva. It's too bad she cannot be here to say goodbye. I'm sure it would be a very touching scene."

"Oh, trust me, you will not be seeing any scene like that," Tony heard a voice say from the doorway and saw a brief wave of surprise register on Holdset's face.

"Ah, Ziva, dear, how nice of you to join us," Jeremy said, and Tony saw one of his hands reaching down to grab the gun on the table beside him.

"You touch that gun, and I'll put a double tap in your chest," Gibbs said from the doorway behind Jeremy. "Put everything down and put your arms in the air," Gibbs ordered calmly but forcefully.

"Oh, but now you have a choice to make," Holdset said to the two agents pointing their guns at him. "If you shoot me, then there is a risk of the BZ gas being released. This is the trigger," Holdset said, pointing to the device in his hands.

Tony's eyes grew wide. He had to tell Gibbs and Ziva that he was bluffing, but the breathing tube wouldn't let him do anything. His arms were still too weak to move, but Tony kept trying to figure out a way of letting them know. Tony was so preoccupied with trying to make himself move that he did not see Ziva walk over to him until he looked up and saw her face looking down at him. Then, he willed her to read his eyes and know.

Ziva heard the heart monitor pick up speed and realized Tony lay there awake. Keeping her gun aimed at Holdset, Ziva slowly made her way to Tony's side to check on him. Looking down at him, Ziva was mildly surprised to see Tony's brown eyes staring back at her, the worry evident in them.

"What was your plan?" Ziva asked, looking back at Holdset. "Why take the time and effort to cart Tony up here when it would have been easier to leave him in his room and kill him there?" she asked and Tony silently laughed to himself at her slip-up.

"I wanted to see him suffer," Holdset smirked, still confident he could find his way out of this predicament just like always.

Ziva felt something touch her midriff and it surprised her for a second. Looking down, Ziva saw Tony's hand touching her. When she looked into his eyes, Ziva saw him trying to tell her something and she nodded her head gently.

"I am going to go on a limb here and call your bluff," Ziva said, lifting her eyes to challenge Jeremy. "That is not the trigger in your hand." Jeremy Holdset stared at Ziva for a second, slightly startled, and Ziva knew she'd gotten to him. "I also do not believe you are brave enough to set the BZ gas off and endangering your own life."

"You do not know me," Holdset retorted and Ziva knew she'd gotten under his skin.

"Oh, I know you better than you think," Ziva replied. "You do now know me as well as you think you do."

Holdset let out a laugh at that, "On the contrary, I know more about you than you think. You used to be one of the best Mossad officers, but lost the edge you had by living here for three years. You let your emotions overtake your brain. You are no longer the sharp, two-edged sword your father trained you to be," he explained and Ziva let out a small chuckle.

Ziva glanced towards Gibbs for a slight moment before looking down at Tony and setting her gun down beside him on the bed with a twinkle in her eye. Slowly making her way around the bed and towards Jeremy, Ziva said, "You only learned the things my father thought about me, and what I wanted you to know. There are things about me that would make even a weapons dealer like you cringe," walking closer to him. Holdset took a step back as Ziva stepped closer. "First thing, do not ever use me for your own agenda. If Tony could talk, he would tell you not to make me angry." Before Holdset had time to react, Ziva grabbed his arm with the 'trigger' in it, and whipped it behind his back, throwing him onto the floor in one fluid motion. Planting her knee right where his kidney was, Ziva leaned down to say, "And second, never mess with my friends or you will pay," in his ear as Gibbs made his way towards the two.

"I believe you have a meeting with the Deputy Director of Mossad," Gibbs said, jerking a handcuffed Jeremy Holdset off of the ground. "Bravo 4, we have apprehended the suspect, bring HAZMAT to the top floor," he said into his earpiece. "We also need Dr. Andrews up here to check on his patient," he added, glancing in the direction of Tony.

**Two Hours Later**

Gibbs turned Holdset over to another group of NCIS agents responsible for his transportation to NCIS. After HAZMAT assured everyone the BZ gas never left the vile and the hospital was cleared to be repopulated, the hospital staff began bringing things back to normal. Dr. Andrews and his nursing staff wheeled Tony out of the room to give him a good check over.

Ziva, McGee, and Gibbs walked into Tony's room quietly, half-expecting him to be asleep, but not all that surprised when they found him propped up in bed awake.

"Hi, Boss," Tony greeted, his voice raspy from the breathing tube. "Sounds like I missed all the fun," he said, the three noticing a bit of DiNozzo humor returning.

"You could say that," Gibbs said, breaking into a brief, but unusual smile. Returning to his normal self, he said, "Next time you go behind my back and have Abby investigate someone, I will personally shoot you."

"Got it, Boss," Tony said, starting to laugh, but groaning when it hurt his side.

"Abby wanted to come by and see you, but she can't leave the lab until this evening," McGee explained. "She told me to tell you she'll be here at 6:30, whether you were awake or not."

Tony smiled, "Good ole Abs."

"Come on, McGee," Gibbs spoke up after a moment of awkward silence. "We need to finish up some stuff before heading back to NCIS," he lied. He decided now would be a good time for his two agents to talk about whatever the heck had been going on the past however many years.

When Gibbs shut the door behind him, Tony and Ziva sank into an even more awkward silence. Tony cleared his throat to cover up the silence a bit.

"How did you know that was not the trigger?" Ziva finally asked.

"That was the remote to my bed," Tony said, pointing to the one on the shelf beside the bed. "I saw him take it off my bed right before you and Gibbs walked in."

"You should have told me about Jeremy going to your house yesterday morning," Ziva said, sitting down in the chair next to Tony's bed.

"Why would I, Zee-vah?" Tony asked seriously. "You would have accused me of being jealous and trying to trash your wonderful relationship with him. I wanted more concrete evidence before I confronted you. That's why I asked Abby for help."

"How did we get to this point?" Ziva sighed. "We are partners. Partners are supposed to have each other's back through anything."

"Well, when those partners made the mistake of trying to be more than partners, it kind of put a kink in the mix," Tony pointed out.

"It was only when we broke up," Ziva said.

"I didn't have a choice, Zee-vah," Tony said. "I was in a lose-lose situation. I couldn't tell Director Shepard about us, and I couldn't tell you about the undercover mission. I wanted to tell you, so bad, but I didn't have a choice."

"Everyone has choices," Ziva pointed out.

"Okay, do you want to know the truth?" Tony said his voice changing tone. "I made up my mind to tell you the truth, but when I called you were out with some man. That was when I realized I'd missed my chance, and that nothing would ever be the same between us," he explained. "We need to work on being true partners and then see," he added, not looking into her eyes, because he knew the moment he did, she would know he was lying.

"Agreed. Relationships in the workplace are too complicated to begin with. It is best that we go back to the way we used to be," Ziva said, standing up. "I better go see if McGee and Gibbs need any help. Call if you need anything," she told Tony before heading towards the door.

"Hey, Zee-vah," Tony called before she opened the door. "I am sorry he used you the way he did. You deserve so much better." Ziva smiled her thanks and left the room.

_**So, what do you think? Should I end it here or add another chapter??? Tell me what you think.**_


	11. Good things DO happen in storms

_**Okay, so I was probably mean last night when I made some of ya'll believe that was the end of the story. Part of me thought about leaving it like that, just because I could see the PTB doing that on the show, but since this is fanfic, I'm giving a happy ending.  
**_

_**Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this story from beginning to end. I'm sorry that I have taken so long to write it! I didn't realize how busy I would get.**_

**Three Months Later**

Tony returned to work on desk duty a week ago. It killed him to watch Ziva, McGee, and Gibbs take off after a suspect without him. He knew how dangerous their line of work was, and how easily someone could be killed.

Ever since that conversation at the hospital, the whole team could tell a big difference in the way Tony and Ziva acted around each other. But, there was still something that kept the two at a distance.

Tony went down to Abby's Lab to kill time until the others returned from investigating a robbery. "What's this doo-da do?" Tony asked, touching the machine against the wall, causing it to beep loud.

"Tony, don't touch my babies!" Abby exclaimed, walking out of her office and shutting the machine off. "Shouldn't you be working on something?" she asked the man.

"It's too quiet up there without the others," Tony whined. "Boss has me doing Probie work. I should be out there helping them."

"Sorry, do you need a hug," Abby asked, reaching out and giving Tony a hug just as his cell phone rang.

"DiNozzo," Tony answered. "On my way, Boss," he replied a few seconds later. "They must be back. Boss wants me down in Autopsy," he told Abby.

**Autopsy**

"I told you I am fine, Gibbs," Ziva insisted as she sat on the table for Ducky to check her over. When they confronted the suspect to bring him in for questioning, the man took off running up a flight of steps. Ziva managed to catch up to him at the top. When she got close, he turned around and pushed her. As she lost her balance, she grabbed onto the man, and the two tumbled down the stairs.

Ziva heard the doors slide open and looked over to see Tony walk in. "You wanted me, Boss?" he asked before looking up and seeing Ziva being checked out, looking a bit worse for wear.

"Take Ziva home," Gibbs told the man.

"I can take care of myself," Ziva spoke up.

"My dear, it would be wise for you to let young Anthony drive you home," Ducky spoke up. "I believe you have a slight concussion and a few bruised ribs. I would not recommend you driving by yourself." Turning from Ziva, Ducky looked at Tony, "If she does have a concussion, she should not be by herself for the next twenty-four hours."

"Um, are you sure this is a good idea, Boss?" Tony asked, not sure about this.

"Would you rather I sent McGee and made you do the paperwork?" Gibbs said, staring at the young man, daring him to say yes.

"Your car or mine?" Tony asked Ziva, giving in.

"Last time I let you drive my car you almost sent us into a ditch," Ziva exclaimed, gingerly sliding off the table.

"That was not my fault. The dude cut me off," Tony defended as the two headed out of the sliding doors towards the elevator.

"I think it is time you rethought a certain rule of yours," Ducky told his old friend. "They remind me of you and Jenny a long time ago.

"And look how that turned out," Gibbs scoffed.

"Tony and Ziva are different though," Ducky replied. "They learned everything from you. All they need to do is realize what they have is a rare thing. The love they have for one another is what makes them a strong team in the field. They understand each other without talking."

Gibbs knew that everything the medical examiner said was true. He just needed time to gain some control over the situation. This would change the dynamics of his team, yet wouldn't. In fact, it may ease the tension that had been there since he returned from his hiatus in Mexico two years ago.

**Ziva's Apartment**

Tony held the door open for Ziva to walk into the apartment. "Are you hungry?" he asked, setting his bag down by the door. "I could order us a pizza or something."

"I am not hungry right now," Ziva answered, walking into her bedroom to change into something more comfortable.

"So this is where my James Bond collection went," Tony called to her.

"I meant to return them, but kept forgetting," Ziva replied.

"Did you finish them?" he asked.

"I have watched them all twice, and I was thinking about watching them through again," Ziva explained, sitting down on the couch.

"Perfect!" Tony exclaimed, grabbing the _Dr. No_ DVD from the shelf and placing it in the machine to watch.

For the next few hours, Tony and Ziva sat on the couch watching a James Bond marathon. At the end of _Goldfinger_, Ziva gingerly stretched her legs out and said, "I would not mind some pizza if you are still hungry."

Tony looked at Ziva, feigning shock, "Still hungry? Have you forgotten that I, Anthony DiNozzo, could eat all day and still be hungry?"

An hour later, the two settled back into the couch, watching the next James Bond movie, while enjoying their pizza. After two more movies, Tony caught Ziva stifling a yawn and looked up at the clock, shocked to see that it was already past midnight.

"You should get some sleep," Tony said and Ziva looked up at the clock.

"There are blankets and extra pillows…" Ziva began.

"In the closet," Tony finished. "I still remember where you keep things," he explained when Ziva looked at him strangely.

"But this is a different apartment than I had," Ziva said.

"You do not like change," Tony pointed out, shrugging his shoulders. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. If you need anything, just give me a yell," he told her as she walked towards her bedroom door.

**Two hours later**

Tony jerked awake, his heart racing. It took a moment for him to figure out where he was and what had awoken him. The normally dark living room lit up with a flash of lightning coming from the window, followed by a loud crack of thunder. Groaning, Tony rolled over to hide his face in the couch, but soon sat up wide awake. Standing up, Tony quietly walked towards Ziva bedroom to check on her. He silently hoped the storm had not awakened her, so her body could heal.

Opening the door slightly, Tony looked towards the bed to see Ziva's still form lying on the right side of the bed. Convincing himself that she was still asleep, Tony began to shut the door, but stopped when he heard Ziva say his name.

"I didn't wake you did I?" he asked, grimacing at the possibility.

"No, the storm woke me," she said, not moving from where she lay.

"You okay?" he asked, stepping a little into the room.

"Will you stay until it is over?" Ziva asked, her voice uncharacteristically wavering.

Tony did not say a thing; instead he walked over to the left side of the bed, slipping under the covers. "All you had to do was ask," he whispered, gathering Ziva in his arms and placing a small kiss on the top of her head.

"I've thought about those three months a lot lately," Ziva said, as the rain began to hit the bedroom window.

"Me too," Tony replied. Truth be told, he'd been thinking about those three months ever since they actually occurred.

"When I first started dating Jeremy, I thought he was the best thing that could ever happen to me. There were so many similarities between you and him," Ziva said, her head against Tony's chest. "He seemed to be better than you. He was perfect, or so I thought. The similarities were only on the surface. The more I got to know him, the more I realized how completely different the two of you were. I should have realized from the beginning that he was using me. He never truly cared about how I felt, unlike you. You have always been there for me, even when I tried to push you away."

"That's what partners are for," Tony said, absentmindedly rubbing his hand along Ziva's back.

"But you are more than a partner to me," Ziva said, lifting her head up to look into Tony's eyes. "I would do anything to protect McGee or Gibbs, but with you, I would give my life to protect you. When Director Vance split the team up last year, what hurt the most was not being sent back to Mossad, but the fact that I could not be there for you anymore. I could see how much you were hurting after Jenny died," Ziva admitted. "I wanted to make you understand that it was not your fault, but I never had a chance. I wanted to be there and make sure you were safe. I wanted us to be back to the way we were when Gibbs was in Mexico. I wanted my best friend back."

"All you had to do was call," Tony replied. "I tried to call you, but your cell phone had been disconnected. No one knew an address for you, so I couldn't send a post-card like I did for Abs. But, that's in the past. All that matters right now is that I'm here and hell is going to have to freeze over for me to ever leave you," Tony admitted. "I've loved you for the longest time now, and my damn stubbornness refused to tell you," he said, lifting his hand up to cup Ziva's face. "I love you more than you'll ever know."

Ziva smiled through the tears she felt forming. "I think I have a pretty good idea how much," she said. "Because I love you just as much."

"I don't give a damn what Vance or Gibbs have to say about this," Tony said. "I don't plan on ever letting you go again."

Ziva chuckled at Tony before leaning just enough to capture his lips with hers, sealing the declarations they just made. The couple's attention drifted away from the storm raging outside, and to each other.


End file.
